As for side effects I have read it can decrease milk supply, or in crease irt dependin on the dose/article. I also read this http://books.google.com/books?id=DrnIt5Gh6UYC&pg=PA1071&lpg=PA1071&dq=vitex+lactation+amenorrhea&source=bl&ots=fkm17U96iM&sig=7FiIRBr_rh_r78kyimvnxRrZYss&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ow5JUbWzOsnk4AOC1YGwAw&ved=0CJsBEOgBMAk#v=onepage&q=vitex%20lactation%20amenorrhea&f=false
Which was interesting. DS is very much a comfort nurser and nowhere near ready to fully wean, though he is down to mornings, some afternoons, bedtime and once during the night (hopefully this pattern sticks as he was waking a lot previously). I feel like my body is so close and just needs a little nudge so I'm willing to go with the vitex.
Is Vitex okay to use during nursing?
Nope. Not this month. Please move me back to Waiting To O. I think we are more or less not-trying-not-preventing, so we go with it if the mood strikes but don't try to force the mood... I have a hard time sometimes getting myself into the right headspace anyway, and the "we have to make a baby NOW" pressure doesn't help.
I am starting to suspect, though, that I won't conceive until she is (more) weaned. My cycles have been weird. I'll spot for a couple of days before my period actually starts. 
could it be an egg is trying to implant but the progesterone level isn't there for long enough? ugh. I dunno. We are cutting back on nursing (and when I say we, I mean me, because she would happily nurse a million times a day if I let her, but I just can't deal with that frequency anymore). We're at four nursings a day now and I may try to cut out one more this month.
Is Vitex okay to use during nursing?
Very few things are actually tested with pregnancy and nursing. So I can not say it is safe that is for each person to decide. From what I have read I feel comfortable taking it at this time. I know in general very small amounts of most things are passed through the milk. Vitex has also been used in the past to increase milk supply, but it can also do the opposite which is why I decided tio wait until 2yrs to start it. I am ok if weaning happens at this time. I would not have risked that before his 2nd birthday, but that is just me I want to make it to 2. He is still really into it and I'm not sure a decreased supply would even hinder him at this point.
On a side note he sttn last night and he barely nursed this morning (we were running late and I kept him distracted)
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erigeron~ Moved you to waiting to O.
We aren't being very proactive about ttc lately. I haven't gotten AF back yet. H still nurses a ton during the night.
My daughter seems to nurse more frequently during the night now! Probably 5 times last night. I cannot figure out how to cut down. She doesn't accept cuddling or back rubs (she cries for 'milk'). She's eating much more, at the same time nursing more as well.
My sister-in-law, newly pregnant, passed along her ovulation kits to me. She and her friend bought a bunch of strips in China, and now I have 50 strips. Is it any use to test now?
Very few things are actually tested with pregnancy and nursing. So I can not say it is safe that is for each person to decide. From what I have read I feel comfortable taking it at this time. I know in general very small amounts of most things are passed through the milk. Vitex has also been used in the past to increase milk supply, but it can also do the opposite which is why I decided tio wait until 2yrs to start it. I am ok if weaning happens at this time. I would not have risked that before his 2nd birthday, but that is just me I want to make it to 2. He is still really into it and I'm not sure a decreased supply would even hinder him at this point.
On a side note he sttn last night and he barely nursed this morning (we were running late and I kept him distracted)
Thanks.. I ordered a bottle to try. I probably won't get it till next month (we're outside the US). My daughter nurses for comfort a lot, so I doubt a decrease in supply would bother her.
Sttn is still a dream for me at this point :)
If someone had gotten pregnant last month and sometime in this month i'm pretty sure it'd still be some of November. With my son i found out around now that i was pregnant and was due November 12th so.
I had a November 1st due date with my 3rd, and conceived on Feb. 8th. So conceiving in the first 10ish days of March would also be a November due date.
I'm 7 days DPO, and really wasn't going to post here this round, but I'm having crazy cramping, which I never have at this point in the cycle. I think my breasts look bigger, too. DH agrees. I don't actually trust either of us on this.
My daughter seems to nurse more frequently during the night now! Probably 5 times last night. I cannot figure out how to cut down. She doesn't accept cuddling or back rubs (she cries for 'milk'). She's eating much more, at the same time nursing more as well.
My sister-in-law, newly pregnant, passed along her ovulation kits to me. She and her friend bought a bunch of strips in China, and now I have 50 strips. Is it any use to test now?
I had a night just like that last night, DS did not start sleeping more at night until this past month, I thought there was no hope either. What helped us is I moved him to a mattress on the floor next to out bed. He goes down the first time there. If he wakes up before I go to bed I will nurse him back to sleep there. If I'm in bed or it is close to me going to bed I will bring him up in my bed for the rest of the night.
As for OPK's I only use them when I have fertile mucus. For me before DS that would be lots of creamy, but last week I had ewcm and it has reappeared this week so I am testing.
My daughter seems to nurse more frequently during the night now! Probably 5 times last night. I cannot figure out how to cut down. She doesn't accept cuddling or back rubs (she cries for 'milk'). She's eating much more, at the same time nursing more as well.
You might be interested in this article by Dr Jay Gordon. http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html We don't co-sleep but we followed the principle of prohibiting nursing during certain hours. She hated it... for like three nights. Then she got used to it and it's been a lot more sane since then.
You might be interested in this article by Dr Jay Gordon. http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html We don't co-sleep but we followed the principle of prohibiting nursing during certain hours. She hated it... for like three nights. Then she got used to it and it's been a lot more sane since then.
erigeron, thanks for sharing this article. I think I'll try this soon. Was your LO nursing frequently still when you first tried it?
I had a night just like that last night, DS did not start sleeping more at night until this past month, I thought there was no hope either. What helped us is I moved him to a mattress on the floor next to out bed. He goes down the first time there. If he wakes up before I go to bed I will nurse him back to sleep there. If I'm in bed or it is close to me going to bed I will bring him up in my bed for the rest of the night.
As for OPK's I only use them when I have fertile mucus. For me before DS that would be lots of creamy, but last week I had ewcm and it has reappeared this week so I am testing.
Does it help if your LO doesn't sleep next to you? We co-sleep, and if dd wakes up when I'm not beside her, she'll either start crying or calling me.
Re OPKs, is it possible to get positive but then not have a period? Some days ago, I was crampy and a bit of mucus (I can't really go by mucus as fertility sign, but just felt different anyway), and I tested, and there was a faint line. Tested again the next 2 days and no lines. According to the instructions, a faint line is negative (positive is when the test line is much darker than control line).
erigeron, thanks for sharing this article. I think I'll try this soon. Was your LO nursing frequently still when you first tried it?
She was nursing a bunch of times, which was why we did it. I didn't mind her being up once or twice during my sleep hours, but every hour was just excessive and it seemed to be getting worse rather than better. When we did it, and she was 14 months old, we wouldn't nurse her from 1 AM to 5 AM. I figured she was old enough to be fine without milk for 4 hours. A month or so after that she started sleeping through the night, and has done so pretty uniformly since then. We had a few rough nights when she was sick, and following me being out of town for a few days, but for the most part she has slept through and now, even when she does wake up, I won't nurse her in between bedtime and the first morning nursing at all--unless she's sick, then I indulge her.
I just have to set limits for my own sanity, y'know? Oh, I'd love if I could nurse her every time she wants to nurse, but she wants to nurse so much and nursing that often drives me bonkers. I can do a few times a day, but not every hour or two with a kid this big, and not every hour all night. I set limits because it's either that or one day I'm going to explode and be like "Okay, kid, NO MORE NURSING AGAIN EVER".
Lots of great discussion going on here about nursing! I haven't been on much, as school has been keeping me super busy, along with a few other things. I finally feel like I can breathe now that I finished a major paper a couple of days ago. It's been hard getting it done, as I was in the last half of my 2WW, and I had been feeling 'off'. Very distracting. I was thinking it was because I had been neglecting to eat at regular times this past week, and from having a large coffee a day with chocolate here and there so that I could stay up late and work on the paper-- thought it was messing up my stomach. DH suggested I test, and I was so shocked to discover two lines! I am very excited, but at the same time I am so scared... so hoping this is a sticky little bean! I do not for a moment take anything for granted, all I can do right now is be cautiously optimistic and take one day at a time...
Lots of great discussion going on here about nursing! I haven't been on much, as school has been keeping me super busy, along with a few other things. I finally feel like I can breathe now that I finished a major paper a couple of days ago. It's been hard getting it done, as I was in the last half of my 2WW, and I had been feeling 'off'. Very distracting. I was thinking it was because I had been neglecting to eat at regular times this past week, and from having a large coffee a day with chocolate here and there so that I could stay up late and work on the paper-- thought it was messing up my stomach. DH suggested I test, and I was so shocked to discover two lines! I am very excited, but at the same time I am so scared... so hoping this is a sticky little bean! I do not for a moment take anything for granted, all I can do right now is be cautiously optimistic and take one day at a time...
Congrats!!! 
Does it help if your LO doesn't sleep next to you? We co-sleep, and if dd wakes up when I'm not beside her, she'll either start crying or calling me.
Re OPKs, is it possible to get positive but then not have a period? Some days ago, I was crampy and a bit of mucus (I can't really go by mucus as fertility sign, but just felt different anyway), and I tested, and there was a faint line. Tested again the next 2 days and no lines. According to the instructions, a faint line is negative (positive is when the test line is much darker than control line).
I have read that you can almost ovulate but then not get a period. When I was TTCing my first I was ovulating but never got a true darker-than-control-line positive. I could only tell because I would take one or two each day for several days and they would get progressively darker, then lighter again. This coincided with temps and mucus.
AMF, I'm on operation stop pumping. DS nurses early morning (pre wake-up, which I am not home for), evening (5PMish), and to bed (7PM). He also either has a bottle or nurses pre-nap twice a day. I'm going to stop pumping and give him my frozen milk, which will last a few weeks at 2-3 bottles a day. I will start mixing with cow's whole milk. What I din't know is whether I want to give him cow's milk or pumped milk on the weekend when he would normally nurse. Anyone have experience with having a 3/day weekday nursing, 5-6/day weekend schedule?
Lots of great discussion going on here about nursing! I haven't been on much, as school has been keeping me super busy, along with a few other things. I finally feel like I can breathe now that I finished a major paper a couple of days ago. It's been hard getting it done, as I was in the last half of my 2WW, and I had been feeling 'off'. Very distracting. I was thinking it was because I had been neglecting to eat at regular times this past week, and from having a large coffee a day with chocolate here and there so that I could stay up late and work on the paper-- thought it was messing up my stomach. DH suggested I test, and I was so shocked to discover two lines! I am very excited, but at the same time I am so scared... so hoping this is a sticky little bean! I do not for a moment take anything for granted, all I can do right now is be cautiously optimistic and take one day at a time...
Congratulations.
Anyone have experience with having a 3/day weekday nursing, 5-6/day weekend schedule?
I do. It is working fine for us. I could not withhold from DS when I am home. ( I can not handle the meltdowns)
Stretch - Thanks for the comment. I didn't know if supply would hold up properly when doubling the amount of nursing two days a week. I expect that if I gave him a bottle of frozen milk or cow's milk he wouldn't ask to nurse. He's really not a comfort nurser during the day.
She was nursing a bunch of times, which was why we did it. I didn't mind her being up once or twice during my sleep hours, but every hour was just excessive and it seemed to be getting worse rather than better. When we did it, and she was 14 months old, we wouldn't nurse her from 1 AM to 5 AM. I figured she was old enough to be fine without milk for 4 hours. A month or so after that she started sleeping through the night, and has done so pretty uniformly since then. We had a few rough nights when she was sick, and following me being out of town for a few days, but for the most part she has slept through and now, even when she does wake up, I won't nurse her in between bedtime and the first morning nursing at all--unless she's sick, then I indulge her.
I just have to set limits for my own sanity, y'know? Oh, I'd love if I could nurse her every time she wants to nurse, but she wants to nurse so much and nursing that often drives me bonkers. I can do a few times a day, but not every hour or two with a kid this big, and not every hour all night. I set limits because it's either that or one day I'm going to explode and be like "Okay, kid, NO MORE NURSING AGAIN EVER".
I've been trying to commit to not nursing at night, but it's hard. 3 hours after nursing to sleep, dd will wake up and look around for the boob. I'd just sooth and cuddle, etc., and after half an hour of this, she won't have any of it anymore. She'll start screaming for 'meh' (her word for milk), and push away my attempts to sooth her, and keep reaching to nurse. After an hour or more of this, I just gave it and nursed her. I was exhausted the next day. Last night, she fell asleep beside my sister, whom dd adores. Again, when she woke up at night, she began to scream for meh. When I went to get her, she drank, unlatched when finished, went to sleep. It seemed like she was hungry. Even during the day when I refuse her, she will whine until I give in. I'm confused how to proceed.
I've been trying to commit to not nursing at night, but it's hard. 3 hours after nursing to sleep, dd will wake up and look around for the boob. I'd just sooth and cuddle, etc., and after half an hour of this, she won't have any of it anymore. She'll start screaming for 'meh' (her word for milk), and push away my attempts to sooth her, and keep reaching to nurse. After an hour or more of this, I just gave it and nursed her. I was exhausted the next day. Last night, she fell asleep beside my sister, whom dd adores. Again, when she woke up at night, she began to scream for meh. When I went to get her, she drank, unlatched when finished, went to sleep. It seemed like she was hungry. Even during the day when I refuse her, she will whine until I give in. I'm confused how to proceed.
It is hard. You kind of have to do it all the way, or not at all. We were committed to letting her scream in daddy's arms for a half-hour if that was what she was determined to do.
AFM, we had a pretty good shot last night. Please move me to 2ww. If this one works out, the due date will be 6 months from our daughter's due date (December 21). Not that I am counting or anything.
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